The Final Year
by Celestina Wishes
Summary: The Marauder's 7th and final year at Hogwarts has finally arrived, and it's bound to be one to remember. Watch them grow up, fall in love, find themselves, cause some mischief, fail some tests and… try to save the world? (Jilly, somewhat Wolfstar) I've wanted to write an epic Marauder story for awhile and I'm SO EXCITED to finally get started on this project!
1. Chapter 1: Back to Hogwarts

Author's Note: Hello Fan Fiction world! I am so excited to be starting this new story! I've wanted to write a story about the Marauder's last year at Hogwarts for awhile. Please please please review!

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 1: Back to Hogwarts

Lily Evans raced down the corridors of the Hogwarts Express with an official-looking letter clutched tightly in her hand and a maniacal smile on her face. She pushed her way through huddles of squealing girls reuniting with their friends after a long summer, zoomed around a few first years nervously looking for an empty compartment, and successfully jumped over someone's roaming cat before finally reaching her destination at the very back of the train.

A couple fourth year Slytherin boys snickered as fanned herself and wiped sweat from her forehead, but nothing was going to ruin her day. According to the now-wrinkled letter she was holding, she had been made Head Girl! She had received the letter earlier than day, and although it didn't state who the new Head Boy was, she thought she had a pretty good idea of whom she would be working with all year. After boarding the train- after an uncharacteristically long security checkpoint- and catching up with a few friends in other houses, she quickly learned who her partner would be, and could barely contain her excitement.

"It's absurd to choose a Head Boy and Girl from the _same_ house…" grumbled Donald Macmillian bitterly.

"Yes and I can't believe Dumbledore made a _Marauder_ Head Boy… I know there have been attacks and abductions lately, but this truly is most shocking news I've heard all summer! What is happening to the world?!" shrieked Cassiopeia Swoop, a Hufflepuff who had been a prefect with Lily the year before. Lily learned to appreciate Cas's flair for the dramatic during the time they spent doing rounds together the year before, but after a quiet summer, her shrill voice took a little easing into.

"Oh but no offense Lily!" Cassiopeia quickly recovered. "I know you lot are friends... And really out of the four of them, he isn't so bad. Nothing like that Sirius Black…"

As Cassiopeia and Don began discussing all the trouble Sirius had caused over the past few years, Lily quietly excused herself.

She rushed down the train in order to find the boy she who had she had worked with as a perfect all 6th year, the boy who had become one of her best friends, the smartest and arguably most mature boy in her class, and boy she knew would make an excellent Head Boy- Remus Lupin.

Having finally caught her breath, Lily raised her fist up to the opaque window of compartment's sliding door. Before she could knock though, she heard a loud BANG from inside the compartment that jostled the train car violently.

The small explosion knocked Lily off her feet. She now heard loud arguing, laughing, and yelling from behind the door, followed by what sounded like one person tackling another.

Since second year, the Marauders had been "strongly encouraged" by the conductor to claim the last compartment so as to not "disturb" the other students and teachers.

Rolling her eyes, Lily smoothed her skirt, shook out her hair, and knocked loudly on the sliding door.

The boys suddenly went silent. She heard some worried hushed whispering what sounded something like, "Quick, hide the stuff!" following by some shuffling, before Peter Pettigrew yelled, "Come iiin!" in an overly innocent sing-song voice.

She slid the door open.

"Soooo… word on the street had it that the newly appointed Head Boy of Hogwarts is sitting right in this very compartment," he eyes landing on Lupin.

Remus smiled and looked up from the book he was reading, put he wasn't smiling at Lily. "Come on Prongs, you've been talking about it all day, don't be shy now!

James Potter stood up slowly, a wide grin starting to creep across his face.

"We are going to have so much fun this year, Evans!" looking at her with sickening adoration.

Lily felt the color drain from her face and she stared at the Head Boy pin shining brightly on the front of his robes.

"Well, that was rude," James plopped back down onto the seat next to Peter in a huff. Lily's words still echoed in his ears.

"Dumbledore made you Head Boy?! You weren't even a prefect! Oh Merlin, why is this happening to me?!" she let out before exiting the compartment and slamming the door behind her.

"Prongs mate, can you really blame her?" Remus closed his book and looked at James sympathetically. "You two haven't had the best relationship…"

The door flew open again and Lily rushed back inside, her hand held over her mouth and nose.

"Those pre-pubescent Slytherins set off dung bombs in the hallway! Merlin it smells awful out there! This is why I always sit at the front of the train… Looks like weren't stuck together a little longer." She sat down next to Remus, who finally gave up on his book and put it back in his bag.

Lily looked around the compartment. "Where's Black? Don't you all travel as a pack?"

"What?! No, not a pack! It's not like we're _animals_ or anything! Wow Lily, that's _crazy_. _You're_ crazy!" Peter blurted out, looking around wildly at James and Remus for support. They ignored him

"Off with some girl," Remus replied, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Marlene McKinnon, I think."

"Why so upset, Remus?" Lily asked coyly, sure she already knew the answer.

"Because he hasn't seen his friends all summer! You'd think he'd want to spend some time with us."

"I mean, I lived with him this summer Moony. Honestly I'm somewhat sick of the twat," James stated bluntly.

"Yeah and didn't you-"

"ARRGHHH!" Suddenly, the train screeched to halt, sending trucks flying off the shelves.

Sirius Black finally emerged from the compartment whose windows he and Marlene McKinnon had been fogging up for the past hour. He was still buttoning up his shirt when a few of his Quidditch teammates filed down the hallway, all high fiving him as they passed.

"You're the man Black!"

A group of Ravenclaw girls looked on, all whispering. He shot the cutest one a wink, and she immediately dissolved into a giggling mess, despite her friends' disgusted, albeit arguably jealous, glares.

Sirius swept his long dark hair out of his eyes, and straightened his tie. "Can you hand me my shoe?" he gazed back at Marlene, who was still sitting on the compartment bench, covered in a blanket. She had never seen someone get dressed so fast.

Marlene tossed him his shoe. "So, maybe we can try and go to Hogsmeade together sometime this term," she looked up at him hopefully with her big blue eyes.

But Sirius wasn't looking at her anymore, something down the hall had caught his attention.

"Yeah sure, anytime. I'll see you later though…" He hurried down the train, a fire starting behind his dark eyes.

Sirius was sure he had caught sight of his younger brother, Regulus, disappearing into a compartment with Snivellus, Avery, and Mulciber. He took his wand out and muttered a spell to unlock the compartment.

"Oi!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"  
"You are welcome in here, you filthy blood traitor!"

Sirius ignored the three oldest boys, who were all hastily pulling down the sleeves of their robes and pulling out their wands, and pulled his fourteen-year-old brother out of the compartment by the front of his robes.

"What the bloody hell are you playing at, hanging out with that lot?!" Sirius demanded, shoving Regulus up against the window.

"Get off of me!" The younger Black demanded, struggling against his older brother. "You can't tell me what to do!"

The fight was beginning to draw a crowd, as the noise drew more and more students out into the hallway. The two wrestled on the ground. Even though Regulus was a few years younger, inches shorter, and pounds lighter than Sirius, the two looked so much alike that if it weren't for the glaringly different colors of their school robes, it would have been almost impossible for anyone to tell them apart.

"Like hell I can't!" Sirius finally got Regulus into a chokehold. "You think I'm going to let my brother get mixed up with _Death Eaters_? What, you think you're hot shit now that you started shaving six months ago? My brother isn't-"

"You're not my brother anymore!" Regulus shouted, cutting him off.

Sirius let go and took a step back, stunned. Regulus stood up hastily, his nose bleeding. He looked at Sirius

"You're not my brother anymore," he repeated, practically spitting out the words. The train car was completely silent and everyone watched on, anxiously awaiting Sirius' next move.

The next thing anyone knew though, they were all thrown to the floor as the train came to a screeching halt.


	2. Chapter 2: New Sheriff in Town

Author's Note: I've reposted this chapter because I just realized it uploaded really strangely the last time… I'll have a "real" new chapter up in the next few hours though! (Hopefully someone is excited about that ha!)

Disclaimer: ain't mine

Rating M: We'll see where this goes…

CHAPTER 2: New Sheriff in Town

They had come to a complete stop in the middle of the Scottish countryside. As she and James raced towards the front of the train, Lily glanced out the windows, trying to pinpoint their location. All she saw were rolling green hills for miles.

"Everyone step aside please! Back in your compartments please, everything's fine! Head Boy and Girl coming through, step _aside_!" James called out as students began to drift into the hallways, looking anxious. The Hogwarts Express had never stopped before. Someone was crying,

"Macmillion!" James stopped as he spotted Don trying to comfort a few first years.

"Potter, what's going on?" He looked relieved to see them.

"Dunno yet. Gonna find out. Find the other prefects, get them to help keep everyone in their seats! And play some music, something upbeat. Everything will be fine!" James smiled assuredly. Lily was surprised to see Don quickly following James' orders.

When they finally reached the front of the train, they heard some shouting

"I don't care who you say you are, you have no rights here. To block our path in the first place… it's an outrage! Never in all my years… Whoaaa, stay where you are! You may _not_ board this train!" The frail conductor attempted to stand in the way of two tall imposing figures in long dark cloaks. They pushed him aside easily.

"What seems to be the problem?" James asked calmly, his wide shoulders blocking the door.

The taller man laughed, "And who might you be?"

"The Head Boy. Now what seems to be the problem?" He repeated firmly.

Without breaking eye contact, the man responded, "We're from the Ministry of Magic, and were ordered to bring some passengers on this train in for questioning about the torture and murder of the Trapp family."

"If you need to speak with anyone on this train you can do so after we've arrived at our destination."

As James stared down the taller man, Lily's eyes fell on the shorter figure a few steps back. He looked oddly familiar, but Lily couldn't place him. The whole situation was getting stranger by the minute… She slowly reached for her wand. Weren't there any teachers around?!

"Who are the passengers?" Lily interrupted.

He sneered at her, "Abbott, Jenkins, and Lugworth, now quit showing off for your boyfriend and bugger off."

"If you're from the ministry you won't mind showing us some identification," James stalled.

The second man finally stepped forward, grinning viciously to reveal a set of crooked, rotting teeth. It finally dawned on Lily where she had seen those teeth before. "Watch it boy, standing in our way could be seen as interfering with Ministry work. Don't wanna see a pretty boy like you end up in a nasty place like Azkaban-"

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Lily shouted, knocking the wand out of his hand and sending him flying.

"Why you little-" the other man shot a curse towards the Head Boy and Girl, who dodged it narrowly. James grabbed Lily and ducked behind a wall.

"Evans, you attacked a ministry official!"

She shook her head, breathing heavily. "I recognized the shorter one from a wanted poster hanging in King's Cross! He's a Death Eater! And besides… you think Sally Lugworth is a murderer? She's a _second_ year!" Another red curse flew by. Lily stuck her head out from behind the wall to fire something back.

"Blimey, you're amazing," James was mesmerized. "Marry me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Seeing as how our lives are in danger, don't you think maybe this isn't the best time to be having this conversation? Again."

"Right," James snapped out it and focused himself. "Ready when you are!"

But suddenly a stream of curses erupted from behind them, and they both turned to see an unfamiliar young woman dueling with the two suspicious men.

With a long plain face and wispy mousy-brown hair. She was thin and lanky, yet despite her unimposing appearance, as she muttered incantations she seemed truly terrifying.

She sent the two men flying out of the train unconscious, and with one last wave of her wand, started the engines. The train lurched back to life.

She calmly placed her wand back inside her robe, and turned to face Lily and James, who were still gawking at her from the ground.

"Professor Gillian Goodspite. New Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You must be Lily Evans and James Potter. Sorry I wasn't here sooner. One of your prefects insisted I "remain in my seat" Never quite looked my age… twenty-nine in October if you can believe it!"

"_That_ is my goal this year," Sirius gestured up to the head table, where Headmaster Dumbledore had just finished introducing Professor Gillian Goodspite, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Apparently she worked as an Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and was taking the year off from her career to teach at Dumbledore's request. Remus wondered why the school could never keep a DADA professor longer than a year.

As Sirius spoke, he reached out towards a plate of turkey legs that had appeared, along with the rest of the feast, on the table where he, Remus, and Peter sat for the Sorting Ceremony.

"What? Shag a _teacher_? You really think she's good-looking Padfoot? Seems a little… below your standards… Oh but I guess she could boss you around a bit, yeah?" Pettigrew looked back and forth between Professor Goodspite and his seventeen-year-old friend intensely, trying to picture the whole thing.

Sirius stopped mid-bite into his turkey leg, disgusted. He smacked Peter upside the head.

"What?! No! Become an Auror you twat! Honestly…"

"You can't really blame him for thinking that Padfoot," Remus replied thoughtfully. "You're main school interests have always been…. Extracurricular."

Sirius looked hurt. "I could be an Auror if I waned! I'm smart damnit…" He protested through a mouth of potatoes.

Remus shook his head, "Yes, but you didn't sign up for potions this term."

"I'll talk to Slughorn. He's been trying to get me to join that Slug Club for ages… and I know I'm behind but you could tutor me!" Sirius brightened at the idea.

"So anyways," Remus tried to change the subject. Sirius was not someone you wanted as a study buddy. The last time he agreed to help Sirius study, they ended up drunk in Hogsmeade on a Tuesday and missed a Care of Magical Creatures exam. "Where's Prongs?"

"C'mon Moony pleaseeeee,"

Peter peered around the Great Hall. "No idea, you don't think him and Evans are off… ya know? Do ya?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Mate you have a problem."

Sirius kicked Remus under the table. "Stop ignoring me! I'll pay you back somehow… I know, you can have Marlene!"

"Oh wow Padfoot, just what I wanted, your sloppy seconds! How generous… but she's not my type anyways. Really, where are Prongs and Lily?"

"Moony pweaassseee" He stuck out his bottom lip and sent Lupin his best puppy-dog eyes. Actually being a dog, this look tended to get solid results. Plus, Sirius Remus had always had a soft spot for him, which he never felt bad exploiting.

Remus sighed. "Ok fine. But you actually need to do your work. I am done writing papers for you! NEWTS are this year and I need to focus on my own schoolwork. It's hard enough for me like me to find jobs these days… Merlin I hate being a were- Lily!" Remus was too distracted by his own rambling to notice Lily and James approach the table.

Luckily, she and James were deep in conversation, and she didn't seem to hear him.

They sat down next to each other, filling the rest of the Marauders in on what had happened with Professor Goodspite on the train. As the group immersed themselves in animated speculation over who the men were and what they wanted with the Hogwarts Express, none of them noticed the many stares they seemed to be attracting.

While they discussed recent kidnappings and murders they'd seen in the Daily Prophet, the rest of the student population was buzzing with the news that Lily Evans was talking to James Potter.


End file.
